​RISING BEYOND RACISM

The Untold Story ofDr. Jerome "Brud" H. Holland.

"Dr. Holland maneuvered his way around the minutiae of racial discrimination"

​Dr. Jerome "Brud" H. Holland. ​His is a story providing significant insights into the still tortured history of American race relations. The unsung black leader of twentieth century America, he rose out of poverty to become a trailblazing leader as a scholar-athlete, college president, U.S. ambassador, corporate board member, civil rights proponent, and civic statesman. Posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then President Reagan in 1985, Dr. Holland's life of service and accomplishments – a story largely unknown – exemplifies one man’s indomitable spirit to overcome intractable obstacles.

Click below to watch Carlos Holmes, Director of News Services at Delaware State University,talk about the remarkable career of Delaware State University Past President, ​Jerome H. Holland.and the historical importance he had in American race relations. A transformative leader, Holland was responsible for creating the modern DSU.​The University will soon be erecting a statue in his honor.

​President Reagan described Dr. Jerome "Brud" H. Holland as “a leading educator, civil rights activist, author and diplomat . . .​leading a life of service, the memory of which serves today as an inspiration to millions.”​

If he were alive today, Dr. Jerome H. Holland would be 100 years old. After a prolific life as a black college president, Foreign Service ambassador, and a corporate board member, his parade of accomplishments over the course of his life has been obscured by the passage of time.

Dr. Holland’s African-American success story needs to be revived because of the masses of people he impacted and historic fact that many of the achievement quietly broke color-line and transcended race. Undeterred by the incessant challenges ​due to his race, Dr. Holland maneuvered his way through the minutiae of discrimination and achieved a lot of firsts as anAfrican American:

Dr. Jerome H. Holland’s accolades:

Dr. Holland was the first African-American to play on the football team of Cornell University. As star end who played both offense and defense, Holland would be among the early blacks to be named football All-Americans (twice, 1937 and 1938).

After earning bachelor and master’s degrees in sociology in 1939 and 1941 at Cornell, Dr. Holland would go on to complete an Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1950.

Served as the director of human resources for the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Chester, Pa., overseeing the employment affairs of the black employees. He is credited for having the courage to fight on behalf of an employee who had escaped a Georgia chain gang. Dr. Holland’s advocacy was instrumental in the establishment of a then-historical precedent, in that the lower courts could assume the responsibility of not honoring extradition requests if it was believed that constitutional rights would be abridged and inhuman treatment expected to follow.

Served as a social research consultant for the Pew Memorial Foundation of Philadelphia in 1951.

Served as the president of Delaware State College from 1953-1960. Assuming the top executive post after the college had lost its accreditation in 1949 as a four-year institution of higher education, Dr. Holland is widely credited with saving the institution from closure. Under his leadership, state government was persuaded to give DSC much greater financial support that led to a then-unprecedented decade of state-funded building construction. Dr. Holland also led the methodical addressing a litany of college shortcoming that were all corrected and resulted in the reaccreditation of Delaware State College in 1957.

It was under Dr. Holland's tenure that Delaware State College enrolled and graduated its first white students as well as employed its first white faculty members.

During Dr. Holland’s DSU tenure, he co-authored three sociological books that focused on the patterns of Negro residency in Delaware, the health of Delaware Negroes, and the issues confronting Delaware amid the landmark desegregation rulings of the 1950s of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Dr. Holland would serve as the president of Hampton Institute (later renamed Hampton University) from 1960-1970. Under his leadership, 12 new buildings were constructed, faculty numbers and salaries increased, and total student enrollment rose from 1,400 to 2,600. New curriculum programs were established, including a computer technology program, the College of Cooperative Education, and a Department of Mass Media Arts.

Dr. Holland was elected to the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in 1965 in recognition of his football excellence during his Cornell gridiron playing days.

In 1970, U.S. President Richard M. Nixon appointed Dr. Holland to the post of ambassador of Sweden, a post he would serve for two years. It was a challenging ambassadorship for Dr. Holland, as there was significant tension between the U.S. and Sweden over the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War.

In 1972, Dr Holland became the first African American to sit on the board of the New York Stock Exchange, a seat he held for 13 years.

Over the course of his last 15 years of life, Dr. Holland would serve as a board member of nine major U.S. companies – AT&T, General Foods, the Culbro Corp., Federated Department Stores, Manufacturers Hanover Trust, Pan American Bankshares, the Union Carbide Corp., Zurn Industries, and Continental Corp.

In 1979, Dr. Holland was appointed by U.S. President Jimmy Carter to serve as the chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Red Cross, a leadership post he would hold until his 1985 death. He is credited with facilitating a positive relationship with between the American Red Cross and the Red Crescent, which serves Muslim countries.

After his Jan. 13, 1985 death, Dr. Holland was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom that same year by U.S. President Ronald Reagan. (See pic below.)​

President Reagan, 1985, in a White House ceremony posthumously awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Dr. Jerome H. Holland's wife.

​*Special thanks to Mr. Carlos Holmes, Director of News Services at Delaware State University,and to Dr. Donald Blakey, former politician, former member of the Delaware House of Representatives,and Visiting Professor, Delaware State University (1990-present), for donating their unlimited time, talent, and historical expertise to heighten worldwide awareness about the extraordinary life and achievements of Dr. Jerome "Brud" H. Holland, the first African American to break through racial barrierseverystep of the way. ​

CREDITS:The above information was researched and written by Carlos Holmes, Director of News Services at Delaware State University. Mr. Holmes is considered one of the country's leading authorities on Dr. Jerome "Brud" H. Holland.